The federal government has commissioned the Gari Irrigation Project at a boundary between Kano and Jigawa States.
Minister of Water Resources, Engr. Suleiman Adamu, commissioned the project at Kazaure local government area of Jigawa State.
Adamu pointed that the project was abandoned by past administrations until he assumed office in 2015 with the resolve to complete viable and abandoned projects in line with the policy thrust of the Muhammadu Buhari administration.
According to him, Gari irrigation project is a significant milestone achievement of the government’s concerted effort at enhancing food production through irrigated agricultural farming to feed the ever-increasing population of the country.
He added that 1,930 hectares of land was developed to complete the works in order to ease the burden of farmers for an all-year-round crop production.
Noting that the project also covers an area of about 2,114 hectares consisting of a cross dam situated at the confluence of Gari and Marke Rivers with eight separate sectors of irrigation farmlands.
Speaking on her part, Director Irrigation & Drainage Department, Engr (Mrs Esther Oluniyi, buttressed that agriculture is the backbone of any developing and emerging country, adding that reliable and affordable irrigation water for agriculture cannot be underemphasised.
Oluniyi said, “In order to meet the ever increasing demands for food in country ,it was pertinent to look for the most reliable means in the absence of electricity and diesel driven pumps which is way too expensive for most farmers.”
While commending the federal government’s effort on the completion of the long abandoned project, she enjoined the private sector and international agencies as well as the beneficiaries of the project to invest in developing the sector, towards achieving food sufficiency and security in the country.
In a related development, the Minister of Water Resources also commissioned a Seed Processing Plant at Kodowa Farm Centre in Kano State, a project supervised by the Hadejia Jamaare River Basin Development Authority.
The seed processing plant project is expected to enhance output of farmers with improved seeds for cultivation.
